


Aftermath

by Patricia_Sage



Series: Parabatai [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Appreciation Week, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Malec, Nightmares, Stubborn Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 08:37:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12055281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patricia_Sage/pseuds/Patricia_Sage
Summary: "Alec usually wakes himself up with his shouting, as was the case tonight.  He thanks the Angel that Magnus is a heavy sleeper."(Week 1 of Alec Appreciation Weeks 2017)





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution to Alec Appreciation Weeks 2017.  
> Week 1: "Daily Alec Lightwood; a scene from Alec's daily life"

Alec awakes gasping for breath and clutching his bare chest.

The same nightmare had visited him intermittently throughout the last week. The dream begins with him and Jace walking beside a lake at nighttime. They are laughing about something unknown. This part of the dream pleases Alec; it reminds him of simpler times before everyone’s lives were in danger. However, the moment doesn’t last long. Jace’s face starts to twist and morph, and suddenly it is Valentine laughing in his face. Phantom pain blossoms from Alec’s chest and he looks down to find a dagger imbedded in the front of his jacket. Valentine laughs and laughs as Alec feels like he’s being ripped apart. He yells for Jace but his brother is nowhere to be found. Lost forever. There’s pain everywhere and he will never see his brother again. He never got to say goodbye.

Alec usually wakes himself up with his shouting, as was the case tonight. He thanks the Angel that Magnus is a heavy sleeper. 

The warlock grumbles in his sleep and turns onto his back, arms sprawled out wide. Alec smiles as he watches his lover’s sleeping face. He stifles the urge to run his fingers down the bridge of Magnus’s perfect nose. Instead, he reaches for his phone and checks the time. 5:00am. He still has an hour before he has to be at the Institute. 

Alec gently places the edge of his pillow on Magnus’s muscled shoulder before resting his head there. He wraps his arm around the warlock’s torso and tucks himself into his side. Magnus grumbles when Alec’s perpetually cold feet touch his legs and his cat eyes flutter open. “Go back to sleep, beautiful,” Alec whispers, gently pressing a kiss to his cheek. Magnus smiles and pulls him closer before closing his eyes again.

Being near his boyfriend makes him feel better, but Alec can’t shake the feeling that the nightmares always bring. Alec doesn’t think he’ll ever forget how it felt to lose Jace. And he can’t help but feel a little insulted that Jace doesn’t respect him enough to tell the truth about what happened. They’re parabatai. Doesn’t that mean anything?

Magnus’s soft breathing carries Alec through to 5:45am, when he gently untangles himself to get dressed. Black jeans, black sweater, and boots. In the bathroom, he shaves and runs a brush through his dark hair. Breakfast is a cinnamon bagel that he carries with him out of the door.

Early mornings are a must for the Head of the Institute. There’s a surprising amount of paperwork, which Alec meticulously does every weekday morning until lunchtime. Jace stops by his office at around 7:00am, looking exhausted. He has two cups of coffee and places one on Alec’s desk.

“Mornin’, boss.”

“Good morning, Jace. You look awful.”

Jace shrugs. “I’m okay, just having trouble sleeping.” 

Alec doesn’t press any further. Magnus usually teases him quite a bit about his trademark Lightwood Stubbornness, and Alec admits that he is being a bit petty. But if Jace doesn’t want to talk to him about what’s going on, he isn’t going to beg. Jace knows that he’s here to listen when he wants to talk.

“Yeah, me too,” he says, and notices how Jace looks up from his coffee.

“Oh.” It’s rare for Jace to not have the right words to say, but he’s been acting strange all week. “I should let you do your paperwork.”

As the blonde Shadowhunter makes his way out, Alec wants to call out to him. He wants to grab him by the shoulders and ask him what’s wrong, ask him what really happened at Lake Lyn. But he swallows those impulses with bitterness in his throat. Instead he asks, “Want to train today? I’ve got time after my three o’clock meeting.”

Jace stops in the doorway but doesn’t turn around. “Maybe, I’ll let you know.”

Alec’s days are a steady stream of paperwork and meetings. It’s a welcome distraction when Magnus knocks on his door around suppertime. “Alexander, I did not get a single text from you today.”

Alec thinks his phone must be lost under a pile of papers somewhere. “Sorry, Magnus,” he says as he stands up for a hug. They had discussed last night that Alec should make more of an effort to stay in touch during work. 

“I forgive you,” Magnus says with a smile, “But only because you’re so damn cute.” Alec blushes. 

The warlock sits down on a chair with his long legs crossed. He’s wearing maroon pants and a navy blue dress shirt. “What would you like for supper? I was thinking Vietnamese?”

“Sounds great,” Alec agrees. He can’t help but walk over and place a soft kiss on the warlock’s mouth. “I love it when you stop by. The days are long without you.”

Magnus smiles, dark eyes warm as he gently touches Alec’s jaw. “Maybe try texting me once in a while then, huh?”

“Yes, yes, okay,” Alec says, rolling his eyes with a smile. 

“I mean, I should have known what I was getting into – dating the Head of the Institute.”

“Sorry.”

“Honestly, it’s fine. I’m proud of you.”

Supper is delicious and Alec doesn’t think anyone will be able to make him laugh quite like Magnus does. 

He works until 10:00pm before walking to Magnus’s flat in the dark. He hadn’t seen Jace since their conversation in the morning.

Maybe they’ll talk tomorrow.


End file.
